MAN KILLED, 3 HURT IN HEAD-ON CRASH

An El Cajon man died and three people were injured in a head-on crash along state Route 94 in Dulzura Saturday night, officials said.

A Ford Ranger pickup and a Nissan Sentra collided on the highway east of Community Building Road about 5:35 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings said.

The 69-year-old Sentra driver died at the scene and his wife, a front-seat passenger, suffered critical injuries, Pennings said.

The wife was airlifted to UC San Diego Medical Center, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Mohler said. A second passenger in the Sentra suffered minor injuries and was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

The pickup driver, Anthony Montello, 56, suffered major injuries and also was taken to Sharp by ambulance, Pennings said.

California Highway Patrol officers blocked Route 94 in both directions, at Otay Lakes Road and state Route 188, to investigate the crash.

Pauline Repard • U-T

10 residents displaced after apartment fire

San Diego

A fire caused an estimated $300,000 in damage and displaced 10 residents from a four-unit apartment building in Paradise Hills Saturday, San Diego fire officials said.

The blaze was reported shortly before 11 a.m. at the building on Parkside Avenue near Annmar Drive, fire officials said.

Firefighters had most of the flames out by 11:25, a dispatcher said. No one was injured.

The Red Cross was called in to assist seven adults and three children who lived in the units that were damaged by fire, smoke and water, a dispatcher said.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation, but it appeared to have started in a first-floor unit, the dispatcher said.

Pauline Repard & Katherine Poythress • U-T

Motorcyclist runs red light, rams fire truck

San Diego

A motorcyclist ran a red light and slammed into the side of a San Diego fire truck in the Little Italy neighborhood Saturday afternoon, police said.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department crew was headed south on Columbia Street about 2 p.m. with lights and sirens going on the truck, police said.

Firefighters drove through the intersection at West Hawthorne Street on a green light and a westbound motorcyclist ran a red light and hit the truck, police said.

The rider, a 55-year-old man, suffered serious internal injuries and was taken to a hospital.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Recent rains spur ocean-use warning

The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health is warning swimmers, surfers and other ocean users to avoid coastal waters for 72 hours, citing high bacterial levels after heavy rainfall Friday and early Saturday.

The rain causes urban runoff that may carry large amounts of bacteria from animal waste, soil and decomposing plants to coastal waters, according to a county advisory.

That bacteria makes it unsafe to swim, surf or dive in San Diego and Mission bays, and in the ocean especially near storm drains, creeks, rivers and lagoon outlets.

The waters typically clear up in three days, the county said.

For updates on beach closures call the county’s 24-hour hotline at (619) 338-2073.